Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has responded to the minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike a response to not being aware that the convention of the People Democratic Party, the PDP is scheduled to hold in Oyo State in December.
He also responded to the claims of some stakeholders loyal to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, including state chairmen of the party, former governors, National Assembly members, serving and former National Working Committee members of the party, as well as other stakeholders from the region who also disowned the meeting from which the Oyo State governor spoke from.
Makinde, who was flanked by Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State; chairman of the Board of Trustees and former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara; and the deputy governor of Enugu State, insisted that Wike was not the issue right now.
“Personally, when people go low, or they go into the gutters, I don’t go with them. Nothing should stop us from consulting. Democracy is about the minority having their say and the majority having their way. That is democracy.
“So, we’re democrats, the south has taken far-reaching decisions, and in the days ahead, leading to our next wider consultations will also take place, and we are sure that those that have been saying all around that PDP is dead.
“That PDP is now a carcass, at least with the calibre of the people that you’ve seen here, sitting governors, former governors, leaders and elders, the former senate president, chairman of BOT, they are all here and committed to PDP taking back its rightful position in Nigeria,” he said.
“Governor Diri is here, Governor Peter Mbah, who couldn’t make it physically, sent the deputy governor, who is here. You have the chairman of our board of trustees here. You also have at least 12 of the 17 members of the zoning committee from the south.
“It’s one per state. So you have 12 states here. You have in each zone, you have rep members here, you have senators from each zone in the south, the three zones.
“You have BoT members from the three zones in the south. So, yes, I won’t say maybe the organisers will score 100%. You don’t score 100% in politics.
“And quite frankly, they are members of PDP. And consultation means you keep reaching out, you keep engaging. So, from this meeting, we will also reach out and engage and even do more.
“Exactly what are we trying to do? We’re trying to get all stakeholders, all tendencies in the PDP together so that we can give a credible alternative to Nigerians in the years ahead.”
